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US accused of infiltrating Cuban hip-hop

US agency allegedly cultivated and trained Cuban rappers to spark social change and undermine the Cuban government.

12 Dec 2014 09:59 GMT

There appears to be a new weapon used by the US against the Cuban government - hip hop music.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) spent over two years covertly nudging Cuba's hip-hop movement to undermine the nation's communist ruling party, according to an exclusive report from the Associated Press news agency.

Contractors working for USAID allegedly cultivated local rappers as assets, bankrolled a music festival, and trained musicians "to focus them a little more on their role as agents of social mobilisation".

Al Jazeera's Andy Gallacher reports from Miami, Florida, which is home to the largest community of Cubans in the United States.